Work hard, play hard

Last Saturday I took the overnight bus from Sydney to Melbourne. It wasn't the most comfortable nights sleep, but I arrived safely & on time all be it lacking my driving licence (which is possibly quite important for hiring cars & as my only other id than my passport) which I managed to lose somewhere... who knows where!? It was very cool to be picked up by Richard & Glenys, my uncle & aunt (all be it a few 'branches' along the family tree) who I was meeting for the first time. On Sunday I spent much of the day in cafes & coffee shops eating good food, drinking great coffee & meeting the world & his wife down under, who I somehow seem to be related to in one way or another. It was a good fun day, although I was gagging for a shower & a sleep by late afternoon.

I spent a few days this week labouring & gardening at my uncle & aunts place - helping them out with stuff they needed done, & also stacking up some dollars for upcoming travel treats! This included going to war with an axe against a flower bed for a whole day! (sound like a poof, right?!) I can assure you it was no easy task - it was root central down there & as hard as concrete. The axe really was my most effective weapon at breaking the surface, & even that sometimes seemed to struggle with the task... as did I in the 30+ heat. I also almost killed a Possom when I knocked it 30 ft out of a tree whilst it was sleeping - it looked a little dazed & shocked, then whimpered off somewhere... either to recover, or possibly to die. Oops. Today I ventured UNDER the house, crawling amongst the cob-webs & dead bugs. I won't lie - I was scared - there are all sorts of sick spiders in this country that do horrible things to people, I'm sure. Anyway, the cable had to be re-routed, & I was selected as the man for the task. It was successful in the end, so I have happy hosts - which I think is a very good thing.

Amongst this work, I have also been having some good fun. On Wednesday I joined Joey & a couple of other English travellers to drive along the infamous Great Ocean Road. It was an absolute scorcher - over 35 I think - & much of the day we were in fog from the bush fire smoke that blankets Victoria each summer. However, we also saw some beautiful scenery - rugged cliffs, pumping surf, & national parks. We stopped off in Torquay en route, the home of Australian surfing (ironically, considering the nature of its English cousin), where Quicksilver & Rip Curl originated. We had a mosey round a few of the many surf shops, but unfortunately had no time to look round the surf museuem. We also stopped off at Bells beach to see the big surf & later on saw the 'twelve apostles' (now 8) - successive cliff 'stacks' along one stretch of coast line. Some places we passed through on the day include Colac & Geelong - interesting names huh!?

Yesterday I went to the MCG to watch Australia play England in the first cricket one day international of the tri-nations series. It was another dissapointing result & muted performance from most of the English team. But, it was a great day (again, very hot - we were in the section of the ground facing the setting sun) & good to see some international cricket after not making it to any of the Ashes tests. The crowd was fairly vibrant in our section, particularly as the beers went down & there were several fights, expulsions & plenty singing/swearing excessively. Drunk sports fans really are the same wherever you go the world over, I think.

It has been really exciting to hear great news from HOME (Bratton), HOME in term time (Leicester) & current HOME (Perth) the last few weeks! It makes me want to be back in all of those places at once! Congratulations are due to Kate Venn & Jooles (B) who got engaged, Steve & Rach (L) who also got engaged, & Rory, Susan & Miles (P) on the arrival of their new son/brother, Theodore William Bligh Shiner... corker of a name! I am so excited for all of these amazing people & can't wait to see them all in due course, to celebrate these exciting things!

I now have one more week here before I go to New Zealand, where I will meet up with a very special someone. That will be a little taste of home that I reckon will make up for missing all these big events!